The Right Thing
by whistler
Summary: What if Anakin wasn't the first jedi to ever fall in love? Set during Ep.1 with OC. Please read and review!
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: **All Star Wars characters are property of George Lucas (except Tal Gantor) and all Matrix characters belong to someone who's not me (except for Juno). Enjoy, but don't sue!

A hard right hook sailed by Juno's face, but she ignored it. She'd fought dozens of agents but no matter how many she killed, they kept coming back for more. But she was starting to get sloppy. When she was on her game, she could stop agents with a look, but this one almost touched her. It didn't matter though. She thrust her hand in its chest and stopped the heart and the agent's body died instantly.

Juno stepped over the body and silently went on her way. Morpheus and her colleagues preferred the sleek, black bondage look, but Juno prided herself on her sense of style. She liked her black high-top Chucks and turned-up jeans, as well her plain red hooded sweatshirt. There were several black bands around her wrists and a smattering of tattoos up her arms. That coupled with her vibrant blue shaggy hair made her look like any disaffected emo kid. She liked that kind of anonymity. Not that it stopped anyone who knew who she really was.

For the past five years, she'd been fighting with the resistance against the machines. As Morpheus had predicted, she was the one the prophecy spoke of, and, as such, she'd help make great strides in freeing mankind. It wasn't easy though. The agents worked furiously to keep the system in place and Earth was still horribly grim. The real world was hardly habitable and the gilded cage of the Matrix wasn't much better. So Juno fought on, although she was beginning to forget what she was fighting for. But now she needed to get back and report to Morpheus, so she called Tank.

"Operator."

"I need an exit, Tank."

"There's an old phone booth on 4th and Broadway, about three blocks away."

"Thanks. See you soon."

But Juno never reached the phone booth. She had barely turned the next corner when a huge explosion flared in her face and blew her back with tremendous force. Her head cracked against something very, very hard. Despite all of Juno's training and quick reflexes, her digital self reacted the way anyone would. She passed out.

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Obi-wan Kenobi was running through the marshy woods, with local wildlife fanning around him as they all fled from the invading Trade Federation. Something about this planet bothered him but he couldn't put his finger on it. All he sensed was a disturbance in the Force.

He ran in search of Qui-gon but he hadn't gone very far when he tripped over something. In his haste, he almost fell over a strange girl. Her blue hair was plastered wetly to her face, which was half submerged in a small pool of dirty water. Her breath made tiny ripples across the puddle, so it was clear she was alive. Obi-wan's jedi training meant he wasn't prone to clumsiness, but she didn't register in his mind and he found that odd because he could always sense the life forms around him. Why hadn't he sensed her? The encroaching hum reminded him that he was short on time, so he picked her up and moved on.

"Master, I couldn't just leave her, she's alive." Juno heard a strange voice as awareness slowly crept over her. Her eyes felt too heavy to open, but she felt strong arms wrapped around her back and under her knees. She groaned and cracked open her eyes, but what she saw didn't make any sense. Gigantic leafy green trees stretched toward a crystal blue sky. Birds flew over head and she could hear a distant cacophony of sounds around her. She rubbed her hands across her face but stopped cold and opened her eyes wide. She just stared at her hand. She was still plugged in! The codes danced across her skin and she gasped and wriggled out of the man's arms.

"Jesus!" she cried. "Where the hell am I? And who the hell are you?" Juno was breathing very fast now. Qui-gon and Obi-wan helped her to her feet though she still squinted.

"You're in the forest of Naboo. My name is Qui-gon Jinn and this is Obi-wan Kenobi. This other creature is Jar Jar Binks, a Gungan." Juno stared at them stupidly.

"Naboo? Where exactly is that? Is that one of those new countries that break off in the Middle East every two months or something? I've never heard of it." Qui-gon and Obi-wan exchanged a look.

"I'm afraid I don't know this 'Middle East' you mentioned. Naboo is a planet, a member of the Republic," Qui-gon said.

"You mean I'm on a different planet?" Juno shrieked. She started pacing wildly and muttering to herself. Qui-gon placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Be calm, everything will be alright. Can you tell us who you are and where you're from?"

"What? Oh, my name is Juno and I come from a planet called Earth. Ring any bells? Oh, what am I going to do? I don't even know how this is possible!" She started muttering again. The jedi looked at each other and back to the circling girl. Qui-gon didn't believe in coincidences.

"You can come with us for the time being. I can't guarantee anything as our mission lies elsewhere, but we will try to help you."

"Oh thank you! I promise I won't be any hassle," she stopped as Jar Jar tripped loudly over a tree root. "And I know how to be still and keep my mouth shut," she added.

"Alright then. Jar Jar offered to guide us to the Gungan city. Can you swim?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: **All Star Wars characters are property of George Lucas (except Tal Gantor) and all Matrix characters belong to someone who's not me (except for Juno). Enjoy, but don't sue!

The bongo popped through the water's surface. Juno was very quiet as they crept through the city. Below they could see the Queen being escorted by several armed droids.

"Stay here," Qui-gon commanded. "Obi-wan and I will take care of this." He and his apprentice leapt over the wall to dispatch the robots. Juno watched the two men carefully. They'd given a very brief description of their mission and their roles as jedis (something she didn't really understand). She felt totally out of her element but she was already trying to adapt. Nevermind the fact that any tenets about life in outer space had been blown away, her first step was to determine what she was still capable of. Since she was still plugged in, she thought she'd be able to take care of any immediate problems.

Juno could tell that Qui-gon and Obi-wan were very capably but she could take them on, if push came to shove. But she didn't think it would come down to that. She couldn't explain it but she got good vibes from them. It did raise questions as to her abilities. She'd have to find some way to experiment. As they boarded the Queen's ship, Juno took an unobtrusive seat in the corner of the bridge where the jedi worked. She felt useless. If this had been her ship, she'd be ring in the thick of everything. She'd have to ask Obi-wan if there was some way she could educate herself.

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The ship landed on Tatooine and a short while later, Qui-gon, Jar Jar and Padme left for the spaceport in search of parts. Before Qui-gon left, he gave instructions to his apprentice.

"Don't let them send transmissions of any kind. They may be trying to track us. And keep your eye on Juno. She may be what she says, but she's holding something back I think. Be mindful of your feelings, Obi-wan, I sense a disturbance in the Force."

After Obi-wan finished briefing Queen Amidala and her people, he retreated to the engine room to see what could be salvaged. As he tinkered with the power supply, he heard the door behind him slide open. It was Juno.

"Um, I'm sorry to interrupt, but is there anything I can do to help? I know I'm the alien here but I have a lot of training in engineering and I'd like to earn my keep." She said. He noticed her timidity right away, but he could understand that. He also noticed the quiet gracefulness in her movement. But he was troubled by the fact that he still couldn't sense her. What did that mean? She was like a living vacuum.

"I don't think so. Qui-gon has everything under control. We just need to be patient until he returns."

"Okay, I just wanted to offer." There was a long pause. "I don't want to bother you while you're working but do you mind if I stay here with you? The others are busy talking shop and you're really the only one I know." Obi-wan gave her a long look, which she returned. He could see strength in her but he also saw a scared, confused young woman. Besides, this was a good opportunity to keep an eye on her, as his master suggested.

"As long as you stay out of the way, I suppose it won't do any harm." He smiled slightly as he thought of Jar Jar.

Juno moved to the corner where she sat on the floor. For a while she just stared at her feet. Obi-wan felt rather sorry for her.

"Why don't you tell me about your planet? You said it was called Earth?" Her arms were crossed over her knees and her chin rested on her hands.

"Yeah, it was a little blue-green planet in the western spiral arm of the Milky Way Galaxy. Man, I don't even know if I'm in the same galaxy. Anyway, it was beautiful. There were long, golden plains, mountain ranges, rainforests, volcanoes, oceans and deserts like this. We had big cities too. I lived in a city called Seattle, which was nestled between the Cascade Mountains and the Pacific Ocean. I liked it there, though it rained a lot. We'd never made contact with other life. None of the other planets in our solar system supported life, as far as we knew. I always believed there was life out there though. I wasn't so arrogant to believe we were alone." She stopped, listening to the tinkering sounds of Obi-wan's tools.

"It's probably just as well that we never made contact with other life. The people on my planet, by and large, are scared and close-minded about new things. When we weren't busy consuming all the natural resources, we were killing each other."

"Why do you keep using the past tense. You speak as if your planet's dead," said Obi-wan.

"I guess it just feels like a very long time ago, that's all." But there was a flash of sadness that suggested to Obi-wan that wasn't all.

"Can you tell me about the jedi? You and Qui-gon say you are jedi but I have no idea what that means," Juno asked while she watched Obi-wan grapple with the engine. He considered for a moment. Almost every creature in the galaxy was familiar with the jedi, or at least had heard grossly exaggerated stories.

"You must be from out of town if you've never heard of the jedi. There is a Force that binds every living creature in the universe. The jedi are beings, usually with high midichlorian counts, who are trained to listen to the Force and use it for peace and justice. Jedi training is a serious commitment and being a jedi knight is a way of life."

"Midichlorians?" she asked.

"Microscopic creatures that live in the cells of all living things in a symbiotic relationship, telling us the will of the Force."

"And you and Qui-gon are jedi knights?"

"Well, yes and no. Qui-gon is a jedi master, my master. I am his apprentice, what's called a padawan-learner. It is the final phase of training before taking the trials."

"Oh, I get it. Kind of a 'Buddhist monk-meets-Samurai warrior' thing. Vow of poverty, kicking ass for justice, et cetera."

"I have no experience with Buddhist monks or Samurai warriors, but yes, possessions are forbidden for they breed jealousy, which leads to fear, which leads to anger, which leads to hate and suffering. For generations the jedi have been the protectors of peace and justice in the Republic. It is a hard and demanding life, but also rewarding," he said.

"Obi-wan, I don't suppose there's any kind of library on this ship, is there? I feel totally ignorant and I would like to learn as much as I can while I'm here," Juno said.

"Oh, I'm sure we can find something to keep you occupied," he said with a wide smile.

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Obi-wan showed Juno how to navigate the Interstellar Encyclopedia from the ship's computer but he warned her against downloading further information as the Trade Federation could use that to trace them.

She poured over all the information she could find, from ship diagnostics and information she could find, from ship diagnostics and stellar cartography, to cultural/geographical information, as well as the history of the jedi. Speed-reading was not as efficient as having Tank upload a program, but it would have to do. Reading also confirmed some of Juno's suspicions. Since she somehow seemed to be outside the Matrix, she wouldn't be able to bend "reality" to her will like she could from inside. However, she still had absolute control over herself, which meant her reflexes were almost instantaneous and her speed and strength were unparalleled. That, at least, gave her some peace of mind.

With Qui-gon off in search of parts, there wasn't much activity on the ship. Juno spent most of the time holed up in a vacant room she had unofficially declared for herself. She liked it because there were large portholes through which she could watch the strange planet Obi-wan called Tatooine. There was also a computer terminal she used to educate herself on her surroundings. Over the time they spent stranded, Juno grew increasingly despondent. She couldn't figure out how she'd gotten here and the concept of not going home almost made her panic. She was reading up on Tatooine's geography when Obi-wan entered.

"We've just received word that Qui-gon is returning with the parts we need, so we'll be leaving soon for Coruscant," he told Juno. "If you'd like, you can join us on the bridge," he added, noting the sadness in her face. He felt strangely responsible for her and wanted to comfort her.

From the bridge Juno could just barely make out the spaceport on the horizon. She also saw two small figures shimmering in the haze. As they got closer she saw a small speck in the distance, but it grew rapidly and she could tell it was moving very fast. Who would be following them? Chances were no one friendly, as everyone they knew was on the ship. A strange though occurred to Juno; if she could effect things here physically, wasn't it possible that she could also effect things mentally? Technically speaking, it was all the same, since her body was in a char light years away. This was a good time to find out what she was capable of, she just had to be subtle about it. Juno wasn't sure why she decided to be so secretive about her nature but she wasn't quite ready to spill the beans yet.

Qui-gon and the small boy were quite close now but the black speck, now clearly identifiable as a man in a black cloak on some kind of speeder bike, was almost on top of them. Juno gathered the electricity in her mind and pushed it toward the bike in a small burst. She didn't want to disrupt the entire ship. It worked. The bike short-circuited and fell out of the sky, but the man simply catapulted into the air, flipped around and landed on the dune.

Both Qui-gon and the newly introduced Anakin Skywalker were safely on board and the hustle and bustle resumed. Obi-wan watched Juno retreat to her empty room. She'd acted strangely on the bridge. No, he though, not strange, just intense, like she was concentrating hard on something.

After the engine was repaired and the ship was on its way to Coruscant, Obi-wan took time to check on Juno. He found her standing barefoot on the sill of the porthole with her face and hands pressed up against the window. There was a very sad smile on her face.

"Are you alright?" he asked. Juno took a deep breath.

"Have you ever just stood somewhere and tried to feel everything, I mean with all your senses? Right now I can feel the gritty texture of the sill under my feet. The window is smooth and cool. I can even feel the hum of the hyperdrive in my cheek. The air has that stale, recycled taste and smell, like you'd find in an airplane. And I didn't even know there were this many starts to see." There were tears sliding down her face. Obi-wan didn't know what to say. He walked to her and placed his hand on her shoulder.

"You must miss your home very much," he said. "But the rest of the galaxy has much to offer too."

"That's just it. I didn't know such beauty existed. Just look at this ship. I've never seen anything so luxurious."

"Your world must have serious limitations if you're impressed by a simple Noobian cruiser."

"My world's a primitive, violent backwater compared to what I've seen so far."

"Then I'm afraid you're in for quite a shock. We're en route to Coruscant, the central planet in the Republic. The entire planet is one big city. It's also home to the Galactic Senate, where Queen Amidala will plead her case."

"Isn't the jedi temple there too?" Obi-wan laughed.

"You've been reading up I see. Yes, the jedi temple is there as well. Qui-gon and I will go there to make a report on our mission." As if on cue, the door opened and Qui-gon walked in.

"Is everything alright in here?" he asked.

"Yes Master. I was just telling Juno that we'll be stopping at the jedi temple when we reach Coruscant."

"Yes, in fact I'd like to have you join us when we meet with the council. They may be able to shed some light on your situation," Qui-gon said to Juno.

"Sounds good to me. Besides, politicians make my skin crawl."

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Chancellor Valorum and Senator Palpatine greeted them. Politicians had always made Juno uncomfortable but there was something particularly malignant about Palpatine that made her very wary. He was slimier than most and she didn't like anything about him. She wondered if anyone picked up the bad vibes but it didn't look like it.

Later that day, Juno stood with Qui-gon and Obi-wan in the jedi temple as they made their report to the council. As wise as the jedi were, they didn't have any insight into Juno's sudden appearance. She was quiet except to answer Yoda's questions. They said they would look into it. As they turned to leave, Qui-gon spoke of Anakin Skywalker and the prophecy.

"I believe he will bring balance to the force," Qui-gon said.

"Clouded the boy's future is," Yoda said. But something was bothering Juno and she discretely cleared her throat.

"Something to add, have you?"

"Sir, my knowledge of the force and the ways of jedi are very limited but I have a question."

"Speak, then," said Mace Windu.

"If the force is out of balance, that implies that there is more than one side, right?" The jedi nodded.

"Since the jedi clearly represent the positive aspects of the force, I assume there are those who use the negative aspects."

"Mmmm, the sith you refer to."

"Can you tell me how man jedi there are?"

""There are seventy five in various stages of training, one hundred and two jedi knights, and forty seven full masters."

"And how many sith are there?"

"None. The sith have been extinct for hundreds of years."

"Well, forgive me then, if this is out of line, but if any side of the force could use some balance, wouldn't it be the dark side? Like I said, I have no experience with this sort of thing so I could be totally off base. It just seems like the logical conclusion. Of course, I mean no disrespect."

"The boy's fate will be decided later," said Yoda, closing the argument.

"We will search for the identity of your attacker," added Mace Windu. "And see if we can discover the nature of Juno's arrival. For now I think it's best if she stays with you. I don't believe your meeting was a coincidence."


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: **All Star Wars characters are property of George Lucas (except Tal Gantor) and all Matrix characters belong to someone who's not me (except for Juno). Enjoy, but don't sue!

They were staying in the quarters provided to visitors of the senate. Juno was busy with the encyclopedia when Qui-gon entered with Anakin in tow.

"The council won't allow me to train you yet so I want you to stay close and pay attention. Be mindful of your feelings," he told the boy. He then turned to Juno who had been reading about the various sub-committees in the Galactic Senate. "Juno, can you tell me anything you remember before you arrived here?" She was silent for a couple of moments. She couldn't tell them about what she'd really been doing because she thought it would raise questions she wasn't ready to answer.

"Well, I was on my way home from work. I was just walking along the street but when I turned the next corner there was some kind of explosion. I don't think it was a normal explosion because there wasn't any fire or smoke. I have no idea what caused it but I Was blown back and hit my head on something and I must have passed out because the next thing I remember is Obi-wan."

"Without knowing more about the situation, it sounds as if this explosion caused some sort of rift in time and space and you were blown into it. That's only speculation, of course. Midichlorians has sometimes directly interfered but if that's what happened here it'll be a most extreme case," Qui-gon said. "We shall have to wait and see if the council is able to learn anything. Until then, you will stay with us." As he stood up to leave, Juno got up and hugged him.

"Qui-gon, I just want to say thank you, for everything you've done. You and Obi-wan both. You let me join you even though you didn't have to and without knowing anything about me. I don't know where I'd be if you two hadn't found me, but I know my situation would be a lot worse. I promise I'll find some way to return the favor." Qui-gon began to interrupt her but she stopped him "I know that's not the jedi way, but I will find some way to repay you, with or without your approval."

Qui-gon wasn't the only one growing curious about Juno. Obi-wan found himself conflicted. At first, she seemed like a lost, scared young woman. They had offered her shelter and supplies, although she insisted on wearing her old clothes once they were clean. She almost never said anything when there more than two people in the room but he could tell she was paying attention to every word. Whenever he caught her alone she was usually bent over the computer soaking up information like a sponge. When she wasn't doing that, she was trying to repair a small communications device she called a "cell phone" with some tools he had lent her.

"I am so far out of my wireless range it's not even funny," she joked once. There was more to her than he saw on the surface, he was sure of that. He never saw her fumble or miss a step or even stub her toe and she seemed to be good at anything she put her hand to. He brought it up to her one evening as she was juggling some tools for Anakin's amusement.

"Is there anything you can't do?"

"Oh sure," Juno said as Anakin left. "There's lots of things I can't do, like fix my phone for one. But the things I can do, I do very well. I've had extensive training in many different fields, so even the things I'm not trained in, I can usually reason out."

"What kind of training have you had?"

"Everything from engineering to medicine to combat and meditation."

"Why would you need such diverse experience?" Juno took a second to reply.

"You're very close to Qui-gon aren't you?"

"Well yes, he is my master after all, and I've been studying with him for a long time."

"And he's taught you everything a jedi needs to know. I mean both in terms of the force and day to day responsibilities right?"

"Yes, a jedi needs a variety of skills but it's more about training yourself to learn, listen and pay attention."

"It's the same for me. I was taught certain things so I would know what to do if the situation ever came up. I can only rely on myself. My world is not a stable place. I have a mentor who's a lot like Qui-gon. His name is Morpheus and everything I know I learned from him." She stopped again and stared at the wall. "Do you believe that this is what you were destined for? The life of a jedi?" She turned and looked directly at him.

"There's no question in my mind. Why do you ask?"

"I was meant for something too, but it wasn't the way of the jedi. Or sith, for that matter. I meant what I said before. I want to earn my keep. There are bad things going down here and I want to help."

"What do you mean, bad things?"

"I'm not sure. It's not something I can put my finger on. It just feels wrong. I'll tell you one thing though. I REALLY don't like Senator Palpatine. He makes me very uncomfortable."

"He is a politician, I think it's part of the job description." Juno laughed.

"I'm glad some things are universal. But it's more than that. I'd keep an eye on him if I were you. Especially if he's elected Supreme Chancellor." Obi-wan did a double take. "Oh don't look so surprised, I just pay attention to what's going on around me. I'd also be a little careful around Anakin. He's a likeable kid but I think he needs special handling. But then again, I'm not a jedi so what do I know? I'm probably just being over-sensitive."

"Well, it's late and you should get some rest." He stood up but Juno hugged him too.

"Than you Obi-wan, for everything."

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"With your permission master, before we leave I'd like to stop by an old friend's place. He has a lot of contacts and might be able to give us some information about your attacker. I'd also like to take Juno with me if that's alright. She tends to notice things that other people don't, which might be useful," Obi-wan asked Qui-gon.

"Yes, that's not a bad idea. Her unprejudiced perspective could be very beneficial."

Twenty minutes later, Juno found herself in a speeder skimming along with the traffic lanes above Coruscant.

"Where exactly are we going and why am I here?" she asked.

"We're going to see my friend Tal Gantor, who runs a small space bar popular with pilots. He gets a lot of information and might know something about Qui-gon's attacker. You're here because your unfiltered opinion might pick up on something. Like I told Qui-gon, you tend to notice things that other people don't and it never hurts to have a second pair of eyes."

The bar was grimy enough to rival any of the dives she'd seen on Earth. The bar was dotted with surly-looking miscreants who rustled aggressively as Obi-wan and Juno walked in. Behind the counter was a roly-poly creature with four arms (two of which were cleaning an empty glass) and scaly purple skin. His eyes were set rather low, just above his wide mouth.

"Obi-wan! Will wonders never cease! What brings you here?" it said grabbing him roughly.

"Tal Gantor! It's good to see you again! This is my friend Juno. How's business?" Obi-wan said as they took a private booth.

"Oh you know, it keeps me busy. Could be better, could be worse but I've got no right to complain. What can I do for you? You two don't look like you just wanted to stop in for a drink." Tal grinned.

"I was curious if you'd heard anything about an attack on Tatooine."

"Tatooine? That's a long way from here," Tal said.

"We were picking up parts for our ship when someone attacked Qui-gon. We don't know who it was but they were trained in the jedi arts. I thought maybe you had overheard something." Tal whistled low.

"I'm afraid I haven't. I haven't spoken with anyone from the outer rim in a while." Their conversation continued but Juno tuned out and looked around the bar. It was small and not very clean and there was strange music was being piped in. The patrons at the counter were none to clean and looked rather hostile. One man at the end had a particularly ugly sneer on his already ugly face as he stared at them. Juno glared right back. The man didn't return the challenge and she returned to the conversation.

"Could it have been a bounty hunter?" Tal said.

"I don't think so. I've never heard of a bounty hunter trained as a jedi. And why would anyone put a price on Qui-gon's head? Maybe the Trade Federation but that seems out of character for them. No, I think it's something else. Well, thanks for your help Tal. Keep your ears open though. Would you let the council know if you hear anything? They'll be able to contact us."

"Sure thing, Obi-wan. And you know you're always welcome here. It was nice to meet you Juno, you come back too." Tal shook her hand again as they stood to leave. The man at the end of the bar stirred as well but only to throw the something very sharp at them. Juno stuck out her hand and caught the object with a slap in her palm. With a flick of her wrist, she threw it back at him, where it stuck soundly in the wall and vibrated right next to his ear.

"You want to try that again?" Juno said. "I didn't think so. Sorry about that Tal." Obi-wan steered her out.

"What was that about?" he asked.

"What? You would rather one of us got hit with that thing? I told you I was trained in combat."

"Well, you should have let me handle it. He could have been another attacker like Qui-gon's."

"I'm sorry, you're probably right but it's hard to turn off my instincts. And I don't think the two are related. He didn't seem like he had jedi reflexes and you probably would have sensed it if he had. But I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make a scene," she said.

"That's alright. Just give me some warning next time you do something like that. You caught me off guard," he said as they returned to the speeder.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: **All Star Wars characters are property of George Lucas (except Tal Gantor) and all Matrix characters belong to someone who's not me (except for Juno). Enjoy, but don't sue!

Once everyone was back on the cruiser, the discussion turned to tactics.

"I'm not sure what you hope to achieve here, your Highness. My instincts tell me they will kill you." Queen Amidala was explaining her plan using a hologram of the capitol.

"We can use the secret passages on the waterfall side to get close enough to capture the viceroy."

"Excuse me, your Highness, but is there anything between the main hangar and the palace?" Juno asked, staring at the hologram.

"The main power generator sits a little below the city, but it's protected by rotating magnetic shields. There's nothing that will help us I'm afraid. When we reach the hangar, we will need to free what pilots we have left to destroy the droid control ship."

"Your Highness, I do not feel this is a fight we can win," Qui-gon said. The Queen turned to a surprised Gungan.

"Jar Jar, you said your people are warriors?"

When they reached the planet's surface, Juno cornered the two jedi.

"I'm coming with you," she said.

"No, we can't allow that. I want you and Anakin to find a safe place and stay there. I mean it. A battle is no place for the two of you." Juno, however, had already made up her mind. She was certain now, that she could perform adequately in this world, maybe not as well as she could in the Matrix, but well enough that she could take on anyone. And she was encouraged by the fact that her own crew hadn't pulled her plug by now. Morpheus was undoubtedly working on the problem but could see that she wasn't in the clutches of the agents.

What was harder was admitting the way she felt here. She was afraid she was in love with Obi-wan. Qui-gon had already explained that marriage and romantic attachments were forbidden to jedi, so she knew there was no way this was going to well for her. Frankly, she was losing hope. Hope that Morpheus would find a way to bring her home, and because she couldn't fix her phone, she had no way to contact them (not that she really believed it would work here anyway).

She knew her feelings for Obi-wan were doomed and she knew she couldn't stay here, no matter how much she now wanted to. She had responsibilities at home, assuming she ever saw that rotating ball of sewage again, which she was less and less sure of. But that was what duty was all about, doing what was right despite personal feelings. There were things in the universe more important than her or Obi-wan Kenobi.

When they reached the Gungans' sacred place, Amidala pled for their help.

"I ask, no I beg you to help us," she said as she dropped to her knees and the rest genuflected behind her. Boss Nass laughed heartily and promised the Gungans would do their part. Finally the time came to put their plan into action. As the Gungan army mobilized on the plains, the Queen's company, including Juno and Anakin, headed toward the city. When they reached the hangar, Obi-wan went to free the pilots while Qui-gon went to take on the many droids.

Then there was chaos. Anakin stowed away in one of the fighters but he was the only one remaining still. Pilots were running to their ships, droids were trying to surround the jedi but failing as their shots were parried by lightsabers. Everyone was shouting. Juno was taking care of what droids she could but she was afraid to release energy like she had with Qui-gon's attacker because she wouldn't be able to limit the destruction to just the droids.

A door opened behind her and in rolled two nasty-looking droids. Before they could get their shields up, Juno laid her hands on them, blowing out their circuits. She yanked off one of their guns, which she used to blast the other robots. After all the droids were down, everyone ran to the main door, but to their surprise, behind it stood the mysterious alien who had attacked them on Tatooine. The Queen and her people took another route and the jedi moved to deal with the sith, which Juno was now sure he was. As the three of them fought, Juno looked back at Anakin who was still sitting in the cockpit.

"I'm not going to bother telling you to stay there, since that would be hypocritical of me," she told him. "But please be careful." They both nodded and Juno followed the jedi down the hall.

From her vantage point above the fight, the sith seemed to have the upper hand over Obi-wan and Qui-gon. His control over his double-ended lightsaber was masterful. They hadn't noticed her on the catwalk above them and she didn't want to interfere unless it was really necessary. The sith threw Obi-wan off the walkway but continued moving as Qui-gon forced him back. They were well down the hall when Obi-wan leapt up and ran after them. She walked closer and could still hear the clashing of weapons but then they stopped. As she looked closer, Juno could see the red energy shields that caged them. Qui-gon and the sith had almost reached the chamber beyond, but Obi-wan was stuck several fields behind. Then the fight continued.

She watched a few moments longer when she saw Qui-gon faltered. Obi-wan was running but he wasn't fast enough. The sith pushed his advantage and ran the jedi though the abdomen. Obi-wan cried out and broke Juno's heart. In that instance, she knew what she had to do.

She jumped down and marched through the magnetic fields. Obi-wan was still pacing behind the final door. Moving unbelievably fast, Juno was phased through the energy. She touched his shoulder.

"Go to Qui-gon. I'll take care of him. Don't worry, I can handle this, it'll be ok," she said. As the final gate swung open, Juno joined the sith. They circled each other slowly.

"What, no weapon?" the sith laughed in a harsh voice. Juno just smiled.

"What makes you think I need one?" With that, she jumped up and kicked him full in the face. He reeled back and Juno snatched his lightsaber in his moment of weakness. Then, with one clean slice, she removed his offending head, which rolled into the pitless well. She went to Obi-wan, who was cradling his dying master.

"Obi-wan," she said. "Obi-wan, I need you to listen to me." She held his tear-stained cheek in her hand. "I can heal him. He's in very bad shape, but I can help him."

"What do you mean? Are you serious?"

"Yes, remember, I have training in medicine. But this is going to be different. There's going to be a price. What would you be willing to give up?" He looked at the fading jedi.

"I'd give everything I have, anything you wanted." That was what she needed to hear, because whether he knew it or not, her life was his to do with as he pleased. That's assuming she could do what she promised. She was fairly certain she could, but some things worked better on paper.

"It's not my price, it's just the way these things work. If it were up to me, I'd give you anything you wanted," she said and she kissed him softly on the forehead. She moved so she was kneeling over Qui-gon, placing her hands on the ugly, singed wound and he groaned.

In essence, what she was trying to do was "download" Qui-gon's injury and replacing it with part of her, which would stimulate his own cell growth. It shouldn't have been possible, but then neither should anything else she'd done. Juno focused on the dead cells and absorbed them one by one, into herself. The pain was excruciating, but she kept her face calm. She could tell it was no picnic for Qui-gon either, who hissed and moaned.

Because they were linked as she worked, he was being exposed to every thought and memory she had, from her Matrix "family" to her life on the Nebuchadnezzar to being blown into their lives. He felt all the emotions attached to those images and it was clearly overwhelming him.

It was becoming harder and harder for her to continue as the pain got worse. Dear god, she was dying! Then, finally, it was over. Qui-gon surged to life, gasping and Obi-wan hovered over him. Juno, meanwhile, was trying to get herself under control. She knew she was dying, but she didn't want to let Obi-wan know that. This was best for everyone. With supreme effort, and concentration she masked the bleeding wound so she appeared sound to the naked eye. Hopefully she could slip off to someplace private and die quietly. The only glitch was Qui-gon, who knew exactly what had happened. Maybe she could convince Obi-wan to take him to the medical facility.

———————————————————————————————————————————

Unbeknownst to everyone, Yoda and the rest of the jedi council had flown to Naboo. Yoda had sensed a great disturbance in the force but didn't know what it meant. The Queen had regained control of the city and offered the council the use of the great hall. The Trade Federation had been sent back to Coruscant to await censure from the Senate. The droids were defeated thanks to Anakin and R2D2 and the surviving Gungans trickled into the city. The absence of Qui-gon and his apprentice was not lost on Yoda. He was pleased to see Obi-wan enter the hall, supporting his master. The girl, Juno, trailed behind them slowly.

"Please, your Highness, can we arrange medical assistance for Qui-gon? He was seriously injured, although Juno managed to heal him I think. I just want to make sure he's alright," Obi-wan said.

"Of course, we are indebted to both of you." The Queen nodded to one of her handmaidens who led the two jedi from the room.

Juno was relieved to see them go. She was very, very tired and the conversation buzzed in her ears like a beehive. Her energy was slowly draining away and her concentration wavered.

"Excuse me, your Highness, but I'm very tired. I'll be happy to answer any questions, but I'd like to rest first." The Queen smiled and another handmaiden escorted her from the hall. Each step brought her closer to the end and she was actually thankful for that. She was led to a modest apartment with a lovely view of the city. As the door slid shut, Juno's knees buckled and she fell to the ground. Blood flowed from the open would, which Juno had no strength to hide. She felt the stickiness. The only thing she regretted was not being able to say goodbye to Morpheus.

———————————————————————————————————————————

Something didn't feel right to Anakin. Queen Amidala was safe and Master Qui-gon and Obi-wan seemed to be ok. But something was off. He was sitting in the medical bay with Qui-gon who was going to live but was still being checked out by the medi-droids.

"Master sir, something seems wrong to me, but I can't figure out what," Anakin said.

"It's Juno," said Qui-gon. "She needs your help. Obi-wan, go with him, she's in trouble." Obi-wan was surprised at his urgent tone. He couldn't see how she could be in trouble. She'd seemed fine, if a little tired, but that was understandable. If anything he should find her just to thank her now that Qui-gon would be alright.

He pressed the intercom button on her door but no one answered. He tried again but there was still no response. He used the force to open the door but he was shocked by what he saw. Juno was lying in a heap on the floor and there was blood everywhere. Her face was ashen and her eyes were closed. He couldn't tell if she was breathing.

"Run back to the medical bay and tell them we're coming!" Obi-wan told Anakin. The little boy ran and the jedi went to Juno's side. "Oh no, no, no, no" he moved her sweatshirt and revealed a gory hole in her abdomen, strangely enough, right where Qui-gon had been wounded. He checked her pulse, which was weak and her breathing was shallow. Obi-wan scooped her up and headed for the medical bay. She moaned once and her eyes fluttered open. "Juno! What happened? Who did this to you?" he asked. She smiled weakly.

"Qui-gon," she said. "Because I helped Qui-gon."

"What are you talking about? You said I'd have to pay a price!" His legs seemed to have forgotten how to walk.

"Nah, I paid it for you." Obi-wan was frantic now.

"Why would you do that?"

"Because I love you," she said simply and her eyes drooped again.


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note: **All Star Wars characters are property of George Lucas (except Tal Gantor) and all Matrix characters belong to someone who's not me (except for Juno). Enjoy, but don't sue!

"I don't understand what happened. She said there'd be a price to help you. I just don't understand…" Obi-wan was shaken. Juno was lying in a bed in the medical bay, bandaged and hooked up to a variety of machines. The medi-droids had done everything they could. They checked for infection and checked her blood. Oddly, she had a zero midichlorian count. They'd managed to stop the bleeding and stabilized her but they couldn't wake her up.

"There was a price, but like Juno said, she paid it for you," Qui-gon said. "She 'downloaded' my wound, which is why she almost died."

"But how is that possible? And why? I've never even heard of a jedi doing something like that." He was pacing now.

"Because she is in love with you, but she know there can be nothing between you two. As to how, she never really told you what she did on her planet, did she? She was one of the leaders, a champion of a resistance movement against the machines that enslaved her people. Her world isn't quite how she described it, although it used to be. But now it's almost uninhabitable. They destroyed the atmosphere and the cities are all in ruin. The last human city is near the Earth's core, where it's still warm.

"The rest of the world is enslaved by machines grew out of the artificial intelligence humans created. The worst part is, most of them don't know they're slaves. Their minds are linked, held together in a collective program called the 'Matrix,' a neural interactive simulation, while their bodies are used as living batteries, powering the machines. People are grown in enormous fields.

"Some people have been removed from the program, or 'unplugged' and they know the truth about the world. These are the people who formed the resistance and try to free others. Juno is one of those people. She's able to re-enter the Matrix and because physical laws do not bind her, she can do almost anything. She's stronger and faster than others. It's also a huge advantage in terms of education because they can upload programs and information directly into the brain. Anyway, that's how she was able to heal me.

"What we're seeing is not actually there. What we see is Juno's 'residual self image,' a mental projection of her digital self. Her body is lying in a chair in another galaxy, plugged in. That's why she was so confused about how she got here. She shouldn't be able to exist here when she's plugged in. Thanks to her actions, I can now see her as she really is. I can see the encryption."

"How can she love me, how can she do anything if she's not really here?"

"Obi-wan, you're a likeable fellow. And her body isn't here, but the digital representation of her mind is. Think of it as a very sophisticated, autonomous hologram. I think our perception of her as a real person is what allowed her to interact with this world. Our focus determines our reality after all, and no one knows that better than Juno."

"So she's not going to die then, if her body wasn't actually hurt."

"I'm afraid her mind makes it real. She's fully aware that she's not actually experiencing any of this but she had to believe in order to help me, so the injury is real. Not only that, but she feels she has no reason to live. She knows she can't stay here and that her feelings for you are futile. So if she can't find her way home and can't be with you, she'd rather die on her own terms."

"And she told you all of this?"

"Not in words. I saw every memory and felt every emotion when she healed me. She's had a fairly miserable life actually. She grew to find the life she knew was a complete lie, went though a very traumatic 'unplugging' process to learn that the real world is ruled by machines bent on mankind's subjugation. They had their own prophecy which said one would come who would free everyone and Juno's the one it spoke of. She's been fighting for five years to destroy the Matrix."

"Is she going to be ok?"

"I don't know," Qui-gon said.

Two days later there was a celebration in the city honoring the cooperation between the Noobians and the Gungans. Obi-wan and Anakin attended in place of Qui-gon, who was still being kept in the medical bay for observation. Juno also lay there, still unconscious. Qui-gon felt pity for her, truth be told. As a jedi, he knew death was part of the natural cycle of life and didn't support tampering with it. He understood though, why she had done it. She'd made what she felt to be the least bad choice from a list of worse options. He could forgive that.

Suddenly there was a bright swirling green light in the corner. It expanded until Qui-gon could see a large irregular hole in space. From it stepped a big man in a long black trench coat with sunglasses on. Qui-gon recognized him immediately from Juno's memory as Morpheus, her captain. Morpheus walked to her bed and touched her feet.

"We haven't been able to wake her up. She's not responding to any treatment," Qui-gon told him. Morpheus didn't respond.

"Get up soldier, that's an order." And miraculously, she opened her eyes. She saw Morpheus and there was a choking sound in her throat.

"Am I dreaming?" she whispered.

"No you're not Juno, but we need to leave now. We managed to open a portable but we can't keep it stable for very long. "Let's go." Juno carefully pulled herself out of bed and took Morpheus' hand. She stopped before they reached the portal.

"Wait a moment," and she ran to Qui-gon and took his hand. "I want to say thank you for everything. You were a friend and mentor when I needed one and there is no way to express my gratitude for that and more. I'm so sorry if I caused any trouble. That was the last thing I wanted to do. Please tell Obi-wan I said goodbye and that I love him, but I know nothing can ever come of it. I'm so sorry." She was openly crying as she went back to Morpheus and together they stepped though the portal that closed behind them.

———————————————————————————————————————————

Morpheus picked up the ringing phone and handed it to Juno.

"You first." When she first woke up she had trouble focusing her eyes. Everything was so bright. Trinity released her from the chair and went to Morpheus who had just returned. Juno swung her legs over to stand up but a gasping sob stopped her and it was all Morpheus could do to comfort her.

* * *

In his heart, Obi-wan knew Juno had made the right decision. Despite whatever feelings they had for each other (as he now admitted he did) he'd made a commitment to the jedi order, and from what Qui-gon said, she had her own war to fight. The famous wisdom of the jedi did little to ease the pain in his heart though.

"Master, I know everything turned out for the best, but I still can't help feeling lost," Obi-wan said.

"You feel love for her and you miss your friend. She's not dead so you can't feel her in the Force, she's simply out of your life. I know she was upset to leave you without saying goodbye herself. Maybe if she had you would feel some closure. Be patient, Obi-wan. Time heals all wounds, as Juno would say. I believe you will soon be ready to take the trials and I foresee you will become a great jedi knight."


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note: **All Star Wars characters are property of George Lucas (except Tal Gantor) and all Matrix characters belong to someone who's not me (except for Juno). Enjoy, but don't sue!

In the year Juno had been back, she'd buried herself in her work. When she wasn't plugged in trying to free people (there had been some real setbacks in her absence) she was working on engine and weapons modifications using the knowledge she'd gained on the Noobian ship. And when she wasn't playing engineer she was cleaning anything she could reach. She found if she worked herself stupid everyday she didn't have energy to feel anything. Juno was the first up in the morning and the last in at night, not that time designations had any meaning for her anymore. Only Morpheus knew what had happened with Obi-wan. Slowly she cam back to life but she wasn't quite the same.

As usual, Juno got to work first. She choked down her slop and went to the engine room. The technology between her ship and Queen Amidala's ship was vastly different but Juno was trying to blend some of the elements together. So far it seemed to be working, or at least she hadn't destroyed anything yet. When she was finished they'd have to fastest and most powerful ship in the fleet. She'd been working for about three hours when she heard the rumble of the docking bay door. She though that was odd since Morpheus hadn't said anything about visitors. It was probably just Niobe, so she went back to work. She wasn't really in the mood for socializing.

About twenty minutes later, Morpheus appeared above the ladder into the room.

"Juno, can you join me up on the main deck, please?" She raised her welding mask to reveal her dirty sweating face.

"Uh yeah, just give me a second would you?" He nodded and his face disappeared. She sat up and set her tools aside and ran her hand through her short, blunt brown hair. What was so damn important she had to meet Niobe personally? She removed her mask and climbed the ladder out of the room.

Her heart dropped about fifty feet when she reached the bridge. It wasn't Niobe. There beside Morpheus was none other than Obi-wan Kenobi. He hadn't changed much except his hair was longer and his padawan braid was gone. He must have passed the trials. Juno stared at him slack-jawed for what seemed like eternity and the launched herself at him.

"Oh my god! What on Earth are you doing here? I didn't think I'd ever see you again. God, I'm so sorry that I left like I did, but I didn't have a choice. I wanted to tell you everything but I just couldn't. And then Morpheus came and I had to leave. What are you doing here?" Obi-wan gently pried her arms from around his neck and smiled.

"The council would like to have a few words with you. Qui-gon told them what he could but it seems they would rather hear it from you."

"Am I under arrest?"

"No, I was simply asked to escort you to Coruscant. With your captain's permission, of course." Morpheus, who felt Juno needed a vacation anyway said, "I think we can live without her for a while, as long as you return her at some point. And that is if she wants to go." Things seemed to be moving very fast for Juno. Just a minute ago she'd been recalibrating the power couplings and now they were talking about sending her to Coruscant. She'd spent the past year trying to put Obi-wan behind her, with little success, only to have him pop up to whisk her away.

The desperate, selfish part of her just wanted to be near him again, with the vain hope that somehow they could be together. Her rational side knew better though. He was a jedi and she had her own obligations. Ultimately, despite knowing that it would probably hurt her in the long run, the selfish side won out.

"Ok, I'll go, as long as you're not going to handcuff me or anything," she said.

"Of course not," Obi-wan smiled again. "Now are you going to introduce me to everyone or am I just supposed to guess?" he said, gesturing to the rest of the crew. Juno smacked her forehead.

"What's the matter with me? Everyone, this is Obi-wan Kenobi. Obi-wan, this is Trinity, her husband Neo, Switch, Mouse, Dozer and his brother Tank and Apoc. Welcome to the Nebuchadnezzar." Morpheus stepped in.

"I assume you don't have to leave right away. I'd be more than happy to give you a tour and you're welcome to stay for dinner, although I'll tell you right now you're not going to like it. And if it's not too much to ask, I'd like to get a closer look at your ship. Juno's been making modifications based on your technology but I'd like to see the real thing if I could."

——————————————————————————————————————————————

As they prepared to take off, Juno's butterflies came back with a vengeance and she was sure she was making a mistake. This time Obi-wan could sense her confusion.

"It will be alright Juno, you're not in any trouble."

"I know, it's just the real me is so much less impressive," she said with tears in her eyes and Obi-wan embraced her.

"I just want you to know that despite our different circumstances that I love you too," he told her. Through her dirty clothes he felt hard circular objects. He saw them in her arms as well.

"Is that where…?" he asked.

"Yeah, that's how they used our bodies. The main port is here at the base of my skull." She pushed her dirty hair out of the way to show him. "This is what we use when we hack into the Matrix. We're almost like bionic people."

"No, you haven't lost your humanity and that's what counts. There should be an extra set of clothing if you'd like to change," he said eyeing her smudged tank top and torn pants.

"I don't think so. If the council wants to meet the real me, I might as well do it all the way. If you're going to get wet you might as well go swimming, right? How long will it take us to get there?"

"A full day in hyperdrive."

"Only a day? Wow!"

"That's a day in hyperdrive. You can cross whole quadrants of the galaxy in seconds in hyperdrive, so that should give you an idea of the distance. Before we do that though I want to scan your blood to check for any germs or infections." Obi-wan used a small lancet to take a sample and fed it into the computer. He let out a whistle.

"What is it? I don't feel sick."

"No, there's no sign of infection, but your midichlorian count is quite high. Over 14,000. We tested your blood while you were in the medical bay on Naboo but nothing registered. I know why now, of course but I was very confused at the time." There was a long pause.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you the truth, that you had to hear it from Qui-gon. How are he and Anakin doing?"

"They're well. After some debate, the council gave him permission to train Anakin."

"You know I have the utmost respect for Qui-gon, but I hope he's careful with Anakin. I'm no jedi but there seemed to be a lot of uncertainty in him."

As Obi-wan prepared to go into hyperdrive, they cease to talk. Too many things went unsaid or didn't need to be said. When they reached Coruscant, Juno looked around with tears in her eyes.

"God, it's even more wonderful than I remembered. How is it fair that such luxury should be found on one planet when others have nothing?"

"Never nothing. Hope is a valuable thing." Obi-wan showed her to her room so she could rest before their meeting with the council. When the time finally came, Obi-wan was there to escort her to the temple. There they met up with Qui-gon and Anakin, who would be joining the meeting as well. Juno squeezed them both warmly.

"It's so good to see you both again. Do you have any idea why the council dragged me from my own galaxy? Obi-wan won't tell me anything, although to be fair I'm not sure he actually knows," she said with a wink.

"I believe it has to do with the nature of your departure," Qui-gon said. "But we should be on our way. We don't want to be late."

They all entered the council room but center stage was reserved for Juno. She found herself surrounded by a very intimidating group of people.

"Summoned you were to discuss your role in the battle for Naboo," Yoda said

"Qui-gon has told us what he could but even he doesn't understand everything that happened," Mace Windu added.

"Ok. Where would you like me to start?"

"Why don't you just start from the beginning?"

"Well I guess to do that you'll need a small history lesson," Juno said. "I come from the planet Earth, which used to be a beautiful thriving place. Our cities had nothing on a place like this, but they were fairly large. Earth is the only planet in our solar system that supported life and we'd never made contact with other life forms. As our society advanced, so did our technology. We created artificial intelligence, which gave birth to a whole race of machines. Historical reports from this time are very sketchy so we're not really sure what happened.

"There was some kind of battle but we're not sure who struck first. We burned the skies at some point, since without solar energy we thought the machines would be powerless. We never even considered the possibility that we could be a viable energy source, but the machines did. After that human beings were grown with ports installed through which they controlled us." Juno turned around to show the council the metal disks that ran down her spine.

"They created a virtual world and plugged in human minds to keep them trapped and unaware of the real world. So while the real world is an ugly ravaged place, people were programmed, hardwired to believe in and rely on their virtual reality. People were grown, lived and died without knowing that they were simply living batteries.

"The machines had succeeded in separating the body from the mind but since one can't live without the other, death in the Matrix meant death in the real world as well. Eventually a man escaped from the Matrix and he unplugged the first of us, who formed the resistance. The goal was to free as many minds as possible, but like the jedi order, there are qualifications. Some people are more gifted in terms of mental talent, which I'll get to in a minute. We also have age restrictions. The older someone is, the more dangerous it is to unplug them because they're so dependent on the system that they'll fight to protect it. Technically speaking, I should not have been freed because I was too old. But my captain, Morpheus, believed that I would fulfill a prophecy that foretold of one who would have the power to end the war."

"And were you?" Mace Windu asked.

"It took me a little while, but I got there eventually." Juno smiled. "We haven't won yet though. Anyway, back to this talent I mentioned. Because peoples' minds are digitally mastered to operate in a digital world, laws like gravity do not bind them. Most people, however, are too far in to realize the nature of their world, so they're tied down. Those who are freed, myself in particular, grasp the nature of the Matrix and can use it to their advantage."

"What do you mean?"

"Actually, it's similar to the skills jedi learn. Superhuman speed and strength, almost anything the mind can comprehend. Belief is the most important thing. Jedi are taught to listen to the will of the Force through their midichlorians. Through the Force they can see the future and manipulate reality in ways most people can't.

"We do the same thing, except it's not reality we're manipulating but virtual reality, which is why we're capable of so much more. Right now, anyone in this room could squash me like a bug if you felt like it. But if you were on my turf, none of you would be able to touch me. That's an interesting thought, really. Obi-wan told me I had a high midichlorian count. I wonder if you tested the other people on my ship you'd find similar results. Maybe we've taken the same qualities the jedi have but honed those skills into something else. Interesting.

"Anyway, that's why I was so confused about ending up here. I have no idea how it happened. I was plugged into the Matrix at the time and there was some kind of explosion and I woke up on Naboo. There's no way I should have been able to exist in the physical world while I was plugged in. I still can't explain that part of it.

"I have no idea how long I was there before Obi-wan found me. He just assumed I was some helpless life form probably. He wouldn't have had any reason to suspect otherwise, would he? But he could tell I was alive and his jedi training insisted that he do something to help me. I think it was his initial perception that allowed me to interact in this world.

"Qui-gon has said that our focus determines our reality and Obi-wan's belief in me as a real person gave me purchase. I didn't have the same kind of control I do in the Matrix, but I did have control over myself, which is powerful enough. If everyone refused to acknowledge me as a being, I don't think I would have been as effective as I was.

"For the most part, I kept to myself or I was with Obi-wan. I read everything I could get my hands on so I could understand my environment. I wanted to help with the ship on Tatooine but Obi-wan wouldn't let me. However, I was on the bridge when Qui-gon was attacked. I thought it would be a good opportunity to see what I could do here, so I emitted a small localized magnetic pulse to short of the speeder bike he was riding and it worked. If I could do that, I probably wasn't in any real danger, it was just a matter of finding a way home. But nothing I read gave me any idea how to do that. How could I just from the real world back into a digital one?

"I had no contact with my ship so I had no idea what they knew or what they were doing. All I knew is that they hadn't pulled my plug yet, which is standard procedure if one of us gets captured. All that told me, though, was that they felt I wasn't in any immediate danger, but that didn't help me at all. It was becoming clear to me that I was going to have to do something desperate, because I couldn't stay here but I couldn't find a way home. And there were further complications."

"What further complications?" Juno was perfectly and painfully aware that he was standing behind her but she couldn't stop now.

"I fell in love with Obi-wan Kenobi, but I knew that it was a hopeless cause, because of his commitment to the jedi order. Not only that, but I had my own responsibilities, even if I had no clue how to get back to them. So I swore to myself that I would do whatever I could to help him, even if I couldn't be with him. When we returned to Naboo, they told me to stay out of the fight but there was no way that was going to happen. In the hangar I took out what droids I could, and I followed Qui-gon and Obi-wan as they fought with the sith. I didn't want to interfere unless it was necessary. But then I heard Obi-wan and I saw what had happened. I ran in and killed the sith with his own lightsaber.

"Qui-gon was still alive but just barely. I looked at Obi-wan and I knew right away what had to do. It was the best way, really. I'd remove myself and leave Qui-gon alive to train Anakin and mentor Obi-wan. I asked him if he'd be willing to pay the price to have his master back and he said yes. Even though I knew it wasn't him that would pay, I did it anyway.

"I'm not sure if I can explain how I did it. I was able to 'download' the wounded cells and stimulated new cell growth. But it was too late for me because now I was wounded and I was going to die. I had enough strength to hide the injury so no one would know and I could die in private. I couldn't go home, I couldn't stay here and I couldn't be with Obi-wan. So I removed myself and brought Qui-gon back in the process.

"But Anakin and Obi-wan found me before I died and brought me to the medical bay where I stayed unconscious. And then what should happen but my own captain Morpheus showed up and took me home. That's where I've been for the past year."

"And what would you do now?" Mace Windu asked.

"Well, go home and continue the work I was doing. Nothing's changed. We've made a lot of progress but the machines aren't going to let us win without a fight."

"And what of your feelings for Obi-wan?" said Yoda.

"What about them? Like I said, nothing's changed. He's committed here and I'm committed at home. I love him very much and if the situation was different I'd do anything to be with him. But I don't have that option. It hurts like hell but I won't be responsible for him turning away from the jedi. Some things are more important that two people's feelings, so I'll leave him because I think it's the right thing to do," Juno said with more conviction than she felt.

"How feels Obi-wan?" Yoda said and the young jedi stepped forward.

"Despite what my heart says, I must agree with Juno. I have too much respect for the jedi order to turn away from my teachings and I have too much respect for Juno to distract her from her own duties." Yoda and the council considered this for a moment.

"Very well, you have council's thanks and respect. Invaluable was your help on Naboo and our guest tonight you will be. A good jedi you would have made, I believe," Yoda said at last.

"Thank you," she said. They all bowed and left the room.

Juno spent the rest of the day on a tour of Coruscant guided by Obi-wan. He showed her the rest of the jedi temple as well as the Galactic Senate and many other attractions. They even stopped at Tal Gantor's bar again. They rejoined those at the jedi temple for the evening meal. It was a quiet and dignified time, but for Juno it was a silent goodbye, like she was mentally closing the door to something she knew she could never come back to. When Morpheus had retrieved her, she'd harbored some false hope that someday they'd find a way to be together, but she was finally able to acknowledge that it would never happen. They'd never see each other again while they were alive. It was a hard realization for Juno but it was something she needed to learn. She'd never be able to concentrate if she kept waiting for him to swoop in and rescue her. So this was really the end.

The next morning Juno woke early but refused to give into the morning sunlight. She knew it was petty but she wanted to soak up as much of this place as she could. Only when Obi-wan came to her room did she drag herself out of bed. Breakfast was as quiet as dinner had been. As they readied the ship, he brought up several large containers.

"What's that for? Do you really think you're going to eat all that on the way back?" Juno ribbed. Obi-wan just smiled at her.

"No, I just thought it would be nice if you shipmates had some new supplies. There should be enough clothing in here for everyone so no one should freeze. There's also some boots and blankets and food rations. The food probably won't last you very long but I daresay you could use some variety," he said. Juno just stared at him for a moment before grabbing him in a fierce hug.

"Thank you so much. I can't tell you how much I appreciate it and I know they would too," she paused. "You know this is the last time we'll see each other for a very long time, right?"

"Yes, I do," he said and they hugged tightly again.

"I love you," she whispered in his ear.

"I love you too," he said as they boarded the ship that would take her home.

——————————————————————————————————————————————

**Fifteen years later…**

Obi-wan Kenobi was asleep when somewhere in his mind he felt someone watching him. He rolled over and opened his eyes.

"How did you get here?" he asked the blue-haired girl lying next to him.

"You left the door open," she said and his eyes flicked to the door, which was firmly closed. "Not that door," she laughed gently.

"I've missed you."

"I've missed you too," she said. He tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear.

"You haven't changed a bit," he told her.

"Yes I have, that's why I'm here. I've joined the Force now." Juno cradled his cheek in her hand. "My job is finished but I'm afraid you still have a long way to go and it won't be easy. But I will be with you always." For a few moments, they just looked at each other. "I have to go soon," she said eventually. Obi-wan wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer.

"No, please stay a little longer," he pleaded.

"Ok, I'll stay until you fall asleep." She leaned in and kissed him. "Find peace, Obi-wan and may the Force be with you." And that was the last thing he remembered before his eyes closed.

When he opened them again, it was morning and she was gone. There was no physical evidence that she had been there but he felt her presence in the Force. There wasn't a doubt in his mind that, wherever she was, she had passed away.

"_I've joined the Force now_," he heard her say. Jedi weren't supposed to have dreams. But he felt a peace now that had escaped him since he first met Juno on Naboo. He knew that she had moved on the next cycle of life and now he was really free to do the same.


End file.
